This tiny berry that grows on large bushes, has the shape of little red bell peppers, and a tart flavour with a peculiar aroma that is hard to explain. Like many other tropical fruit, it’s a love it or hate it one. I learned to love it.
This fuzzy Japanese fruit is best eaten fresh from the tree (just like strawberries are best when just picked). By the time they get to the market, their very delicate and barely-there aroma is lost, but their mild sweetness and refreshing moisture is still a delight – not to mention the tactile experience of stripping the fruit bit by bit from its thin skin, just for the fun of it! (The skin is covered with a fuzzy plumage that can be rubbed, the peeling is not quite necessary).
The purple and wrinkly shells of this wondrous fruit hold inside a slippery treasure of orange jelly and plentiful of black seeds, and is fragrant as much as it is tart. I have never seen so many passion fruits before in Israel. Their popularity has tremendously increased, and they are now moved from being an ephemeral garden specialty of few to the star of every juice and frozen yogurt bar.
